The Next Five Years
by thehufflepuffqueen
Summary: Six months after their divorce Jamie finds himself unable to write anything, slowly realizing that his lack of inspiration is due to the absence of his muse...his ex wife, Cathy. Meanwhile, Cathy has saved up , packed up, and moved across the country to get a fresh start in L. A. [Musical Fanfiction]


**Hey everyone. So I was throughly heartbroken by the way that The Last Five Years. I needed Jamie and Cathy to work everything out and get back together...and that's what FanFiction is for. Since The Last Five Years is a musical I've written this to be set up like a musical. Finding all the right songs is honestly where about 75% of the time sent on this fic went. All of the music can be found on youtube so that you can play the songs as you read and kind of get what I was going for.**

 _Part One - Cathy: Andrea Gazdik - I'm moving on_

Cathy heaved a sigh as she bid goodbye for the last time. No more wasted summers for her. She couldn't go back to New York, though. Around every corner she'd see Jamie, even if he wasn't there. Even if she didn't want to.

It didn't matter though. Jamie didn't see her anymore. Jamie was the one who had ended it now. He was probably in bed with Alise right now.

No.

She was having none of that. No more pity parties. No more thinking about her ex husband. About how he'd cheated on her, lied to her, and ruined her. Sure, she was still broken, but it was time to get up and move on. She'd had lived with her parents in New Jersey for a few months to save up for her move out west. Now it was actually happening, She was scared, sure, but she was more sad than that.

She hugged her parents goodbye before she boarded the plane. It was for the best. She was ready to go. It all started to settle in before she reached the end of the corridor leading to the plane. She paused, ready to run back to her mom and dad. She would have had the old couple behind her not bumped into her. They apologized and she gave them a sad smile. Once she could have seen them and imagined her and Jamie fifty years in the future. Now she just saw what could have been, and it stung.

Still, she stepped aside and let them go ahead of her before following them onto the plane. She put her bag under her seat and settled in. She turned off her phone, closed her eyes, and shut the world out. Five hours from now she'd be in Los Angeles.

Goodbye East coast.

 _Part Two - Jamie: Greg Laswell - Comes and goes_

Jamie rolled over and opened his eyes to find himself face to face with Alise. She was beautiful, sure, but he'd hoped things would get better after he left Cathy. Still, every morning he woke up concerned about Cathy coming home and finding them. Concerned about Cathy being cross with him for not calling or texting or writing in so long. It didn't matter. It was over. Cathy was gone.

Alise woke just as he was about to get up. They locked eyes and he froze. He was trapped now. He forced a little smile and she smiled back.

"Good morning, baby." She said happily, leaning in to capture his lips in a kiss, which he returned half-heartedly. "We overslept. I have to get to work. And YOU need to get to work on your next best seller."

He watched as she stood up and got dressed, not bothering to stand up. She was right. He was behind. He needed to get to work on his next novel. He hadn't even written a page. He didn't have a plot. Hell, he didn't even have a main character. Or any characters. There was no joy in writing anymore. It didn't make any sense. He'd lived to write since long before he'd even met Cathy. Still, after they parted ways it was like she'd taken his ability and desire to write with her.

Still, with everything that had transpired between them...how could he face her? Sure, he'd never admitted to her his infidelity, but she wasn't stupid. She knew.

He wasn't going to come out and say that it was all his fault, but they had both had their problems. Cathy wanted to fix it, though. He was the one who had left.

Finally, when he was hungry or thirsty enough he dragged himself out of bed. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and a bowl of cereal, and opened the same blank document that he'd tried filling for the past month. Like every day, he drank and tried to write.

 _Part Three - Cathy: The World Above (The Little Mermaid Musical)_

Cathy had been so afraid of stepping off the plane. However...once she did all of her doubts had washed away. She had been right. She needed a change of pace. A change of scenery. There was nothing here to remind her of Jamie. Everything would be alright. Not to say she wasn't afraid. She was terrified. She'd be alright though. She believed that. She had to. It was all she had.

She got a cab and made her way to her new shitty apartment. Maybe it was the sun. Maybe it was the sand and the new ocean and the sky. For the first time in a long time she was happy, or at least something close to it. She arrived at the apartment, got her keys, and walked into the room. It was smaller than her place in New York, but it didn't matter. It was hers. She could have gotten something nicer had she not given Jamie everything in the divorce. She didn't want his money. She didn't even want his money when they were together. All she'd wanted was him. It was probably foolish. Still, love makes fools of us all.

This would be good though. She'd been playing the role of the faithful girlfriend, and then wife since she was twenty. She'd moved to the city when she was just barely eighteen and then met Jamie just a little more than a year later. Then before she knew it they were married, his book was getting published, and...well, the rest was history.

 _(Mine by Phoebe Ryan)_

Cathy was sure that she was going to be suddenly depressed as hell when she walked into her new home. By rights she probably should have been. All of her things that she'd shipped here a week before were already all here, just waiting to be unpacked. A mattress up against the wall, a mannequin still wrapped in clear plastic. She wasn't though. She got to work, her mood more cheery than she would have expected. She found herself humming and singing a bit as she unpacked and set up her things. She put pictures of her and her family up on the wall. She set up her sewing station and got to work. Designing had always been her happy place. Not as happy as on stage, but designing and sewing gave her a sense of security and clarity that acting hadn't been able to supply.

She grinned as she began stitching pattern pieces together. Things weren't going to be good here. They'd be great.

 _Part Four - Jaimie: Radiohead -Creep (Acoustic Version)_

Jamie wouldn't have left the apartment if he didn't need to get sort through the storage shed today. He had left a lot in the old apartment, and he was sure Cathy left quite a bit as well. He knew there were things he'd want, and the rest he could sell or something. Not that he needed the money, he just wanted to get rid of it.

He hadn't told Alise what he was doing today.

Or Taylor.

Or Bethany.

God, even when he wasn't married he was still incapable of fidelity.

He shook his head and pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He pushed the door of the shed open and looked at what was left of his life with Cathy. It had been reduced to some furniture and a handful of boxes.

Now that he was facing it part of him wished that he had one of his girlfriends with him. It would be better to face this on his own. He started taking photos of the furniture on his phone to post on craigslist. He was already getting people interested in the sofa and the dresser so he decided to go through the boxes. The first box contained the clothes he'd left behind. Nothing he couldn't live without. He'd found a leather jacket he'd been looking for, however.

The next box he moved to was no so kind. On top was his and Cathy's wedding album. He wanted to put it aside, but something in him wouldn't allow that. He ended up spending nearly half an hour slowly thumbing through the album. There were a lot of photos, some beautiful and romantic, others that took place behind the scenes. Cathy's bridesmaids, her sister Jeanie and her friend Carol-Anne had to go under Cathy's dress to put baby powder on her thighs to prevent chaffing. He had to laugh at the photo, Jeanie holding the hem of the gown up high as Carol-Anne coated Cathy's legs, Cathy's laughing hysterically and covering half of her face with a hand as she chortled.

When he finished the book, he slowly put it aside, remembering his work. He wasn't much farther into the box when he found himself frozen, staring sadly at a piece of jewelry. Of all the things he thought he'd find in these boxes he hoped that this wouldn't be one of them. It was the watch he had given to her on their first Christmas together. 'Schmuel's magical clock', as they'd both called it for years. He couldn't let this go. He'd give it back to her...somehow. If she'd take it. If she didn't want it then...then he'd just have to keep it.

With that rationalization he realized something. He was happier with Cathy at their worst times than he had been ever since the day he'd left her.

He still loved her...he was a fool for trying to forget that.

 ** _Thanks for reading. Lemme know what you think, or if you have any song ideas for future chapters. Leave me a review and I'll love you forever.3_**


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